| Author |
 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,593 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Ok, so recently I got a semi-cleaned (and some damaged) lot of late Romans. I managed to attribute some of them, but I pretty much thought the rest were un-attributable. Today, I thought I'd try my hand at ID'ing some of the un-attributables that I thought I might have a chance with. One of the particular coins I tried caught my attention more than the others. I initially figured reading the left part of the obverse legend was a lost cause, even though I saw what looked to be an O, but I figured that the letter just corroded into an O. But I could tell the obverse legend wasn't a particularly long one, like Valentinian. On the reverse I could read "REPARATIO" but couldn't exactly make out the rest, so I just simply thought it was "REIPVB" but corroded. Also it has CON in exergue. So I used Helveticas to identify, and thought I had identified it as Gratian RIC 54a Constantinople. It just didn't feel right for some reason, so I tried looking at the obverse legend again. This time I noticed what looked like a P, along with that O I saw earlier. Plus I saw what looked like beard lines on the bust. Again, I disregarded all that as corrosion. So I read at the reverse legend again and managed to read the rest of it as "FEL TEMP", making it "REPARATIO FEL TEMP". Realizing I had goofed in id'ing it, I checked out Helveticas again and clicked the "REPARATIO FEL TEMP" tab. The only emperor it had listed was Procopius. And then it all just came to me; the P and O I saw on the obverse were a P and an O. Then I checked pictures of Procopius coins and it turned out he was bearded, so that beard I saw was a beard. I managed to attribute it as Procopius RIC 18 var Constantinople (least I hope it's right) . Sorry for the long story; just had to share this!  (I know the reverse is a little hard to read, so I'll try and see if I can get a better photo of it in the sunlight when I get the chance)  (In this one his beard shows a little bit)  (The P and O are more visible here) I understand coins of him are somewhat more scarcer than coins of other emperors around this time period. But how scarce exactly are coins of Procopius? Edited by VisigothKing
02/03/2012 7:05 pm
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
The beard certainly seems to be present. Not got any time to double check atm but I think you could very well be correct Jango  Quote:
But how scarce exactly are coins of Procopius? Certainly rare but not impossible to find - a few on ebay, they will give you an idea of value. Edited by bobbyhelmet
02/03/2012 7:17 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
It sure does looks like the reverse is REPARATIO FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum and leaning on shield. If it is then its considered very rare.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
If it's a Procopius, that's a great find. Especially since those coins are usually very crude in that era, making them difficult to attribute, unfortunately.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I lightened up your image a bit and I believe that you are correct. I think it could be RIC IX, 19 Constantinople mint. You should be able to clean it up a bit more. Excellent find.  |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Nice find! |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
4778 Posts |
Thanks guys for confirming! Wow, my first rare Roman find, how exciting!  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3229 Posts |
Good job and congrats! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
|
| |
Replies: 10 / Views: 1,593 |
|
Posted 02/03/2012 7:20 pm
